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Key defendant in mortgage fraud case sentenced

DETROIT — A key defendant in a case involving wide-ranging mortgage fraud with losses around $100 million has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The U.S. attorney's office in Detroit says 45-year-old Ronnie Duke of Fenton also was ordered Monday to pay a $1 million fine and $94 million in restitution.

The Detroit News reports Duke told a federal judge that he had "no one to blame" for his "own greed and stupidity" that led him to turn to mortgage fraud. Duke spoke of a life "so reckless" that led him to spend money on hot rods, sports cars and a helicopter.

Authorities say the fraud lasted four years until summer 2007 and involved more than 450 loans and 100 straw buyers. Fifteen others previously have been sentenced in the case.